SAULT STE. MARIE — The Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians announced that it has signed a tribal forest protection act proposal with the Hiawatha National Forest.

The approved proposal includes a $364,000 investment from the U.S. Department of Agriculture that will support co-stewardship activities to monitor and manage the health of the Upper Peninsula’s sensitive remnant boreal forest ecosystems.

Through the proposal, the Sault Tribe seeks to protect remnant boreal forest ecosystems that include 4,735,678 acres and are within the 1836 ceded territory and the U.P. This includes significant portions of over 900,000 acres of forest system lands on the HNF.

“Our ancestors have lived on these lands for thousands of years, so we’re glad to be able to combine generations of traditional local knowledge with forestry management science,” Sault Tribe Chairman Austin Lowes said in a news release.

Boreal remnant ecosystems are a defining feature of the Upper Great Lakes region, the Tribe said. These lowland-conifer-dominated forests include white cedar, eastern hemlock, balsam fir, black and white spruce, and hardwoods like birch and red maple. Lowland boreal remnants can experience high concentrations of animals in winter when snows are deep and food and cover for wildlife are limiting, which can make them particularly vulnerable to climate change.

Competing interests for the forests require that they are managed carefully. National forests provide a wide variety of resources, the Tribe said. Timber production and outdoor recreation are well-known uses of the forest. But there are many other uses that are uniquely important to local residents. Over half of all Sault Tribe members’ hunting and gathering activity takes place on the Hiawatha and Huron-Manistee National Forests, with members harvesting a variety of species, including big game, small game, waterfowl, furbearers, and medicinal plants and mushrooms.

Lowes said the Tribe hopes the partnership with the HNF will result in a new management model that leverages western science while engaging Anishinaabe knowledge frameworks developed over centuries. Under the proposal, the Sault Tribe wildlife department will take a lead role in the planning and monitoring prescribed fires and other forestry management projects that help build the resilience in the Upper Peninsula’s climate-vulnerable remnant boreal forest ecosystems. The USFS will then implement the plans.

“This approved proposal is really a codification of more than a decade of collaborative work between our tribe’s wildlife program and the Hiawatha National Forest,” Lowes said. “Our goal is to ensure that the forest is not only here for the next generation but the next seven generations.”

This latest USDA investment brings the total funding the Tribe has received to over $2 million in the last 10 years to support collaborative work to understand remnant boreal forest ecology in the 1836 treaty ceded territory. Other projects have included research and management of species like gray wolf, ruffed grouse, snowshoe hare and marten, as well as understanding how prescribed fire and silviculture can be used to build resilience in these important ecosystems.

“Many of these projects will tackle our most pressing issues, including climate change and the wildfire crisis, while creating job opportunities for tribal members with the benefit of incorporating indigenous knowledge into ecological restoration activities,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack when announcing the recent investment. “This is just one example of how our renewed commitment to work with tribal nations has multiple benefits, including expanding opportunities for tribal youth to pursue land management careers and integrating indigenous traditional ecological knowledge passed through the generations into ongoing co-stewardship activities.”

Acting Hiawatha Forest Supervisor Shannon Rische said in a news release, “We are excited to implement the Sault Tribe Tribal Forest Protection Act proposal and look forward to continued collaboration in caring for the land and serving people right here in the Upper Peninsula.”